Dealing with a problematic employee can be the worst, especially when they try every trick in the book to sidestep taking responsibility for their actions. For a supervisor in this position, things can get frustrating fast.
One guy had to discipline a new hire who always played the victim, even though his incompetence was clear as day. Theemployeesomehow got HR to nix the write-up, but little did he know his manager would have the last laugh.
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Disciplining an employee can be a painful process, as this supervisor found out the hard way
Image credits:RDNE Stock project / Pexels (not the actual photo)
When he tried to write up one of his workers for gross incompetence, the employee ran to HR and cried foul
Image credits:MART PRODUCTION / Pexels (not the actual photo)
HR threw out the write-up and told the supervisor that they would deal directly with the problematic employee in the future
Image credits:Tima Miroshnichenko / Pexels (not the actual photo)
The supervisor followed HR’s lead to the letter, knowing full well they would eventually grow tired of the employee’s constant excuses
Image credits:Atrocity108
HR had to deal with the employee’s issues on the daily for months, but the trash finally took itself out when he suddenly quit after yet another infringement
Continuing his story, OP says that he prides himself on being someone who’s fair, but that Jamers always played thevictimwhenever something went wrong. The issue arrived when Jamers gave a client potentially damaging info, something thatqualifiedas an automatic write-up.
Jamers responded with his usual slew of excuses before accusing OP of being mean and refusing to sign the write-up. To make matters worse, he then stormed off to HR.
A little later, HR called OP in and asked him why he’d yelled at Jamers, afacthe immediately denied. HR then informed him that they were throwing out the write-up and would deal with Jamers directly. Effectively neutered, OP followed their instructions to the letter and pointed Jamers in their direction almost daily for a few months.
One day HR called OP in and let him know that Jamers would need to be issued a final warning. OP reminded them that they’d asked to be put in charge of Jamers, but compromised and said they could both do it. When Jamers was called in, he said he had to go to thedoctorand would provide proof the following day.
Image credits:Drazen Zigic / Freepik (not the actual photo)
Fortunately, OP and HR’s problem took care of itself, but how can managers deal with employees who think the rules don’t apply to them? We went looking for answers.
In herarticlefor Harvard Business Review, Liz Kislik writes that some of the most challenging employees to manage are people who are consistently oppositional.
In hisarticlefor the Society of Human Resource Management, Paul Falcone writes thatit’s important that you create a documented record of the ongoing challenges you’ve experienced—along with your go-forward expectations—so that the employee understands what the problem is, what they need to do to fix it, and what they’re expected to do in the future to meet organizational expectations.
Falcone adds that, of course, not every employer intervention will result in performance or conduct reversal. In cases like this, escalation to progressive disciplinary measures may be needed as a next step.
OP certainly did his best to try and put Jamers on the right path, but his hands were effectively tied when HR decided to get involved, so there wasn’t much more he could do until they roped him in for the final warning.
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